Reading through the stories about David is like flipping through a photo album and watching a family member age over time. Here, we meet a mature David, a man of accomplishment but not yet the callous king who wreaks so much havoc to satisfy his own whims. This is no longer the impulsive boy who… Read More
The Pastoral is Political: Activism, Failure, and Jesus
Today, I want to tell you about the trip I took to the border a couple of months ago. Texas Impact sponsored a group of clergy to learn about the crisis on Texas’ southern border. We spent time learning about the nature of the crisis — causes and barriers to solutions. Then, we went across… Read More
Sunday Prayer: Send Word
Tell the stars to send word, O Creator,of your faithfulness to every generation,of your trustworthiness through the long night of injustice.Tell the children to send word, O Love,of your accompaniment in places of exile,of your blessed increase even in the presence of enemies.Tell the prophets to send word, O Hope,of your oasis in the desert… Read More
11th Hour Preacher Party: Sermon Needed
This is Daisy. She is our puppy dog. She really needs everyone to get their sermons written so that we can play with her, take her for a w-a-l-k, get the t-r-e-a-t-s from the magic drawer, and maybe, if she’s very good, go for a r-i-d-e in the car. Don’t disappoint Daisy! At our place,… Read More
Friday Prayer: Waiting
Holy One, There’s nothing I hate more than waiting… Waiting for news. Waiting for answers. Waiting for direction. Waiting for change. Waiting for a result. Waiting for a birth (or a death). I seek your guidance. I pray. I listen to wisdom. There’s not a “yes”… There’s not a “no”… There’s not even a gentle… Read More
Thursday Prayer: for laughter
For the gift of laughter: we give you joyful thanks and praise. For the laughter of friends who remember the stories and listen with laughter all the same; who see the hilarious in the tribulations; who enlarge our worlds with their generous laughter: we give you joyful thanks and praise. For the laughter that makes… Read More
Revised Common Lectionary: Gratitude and Grace
Grace and gratitude seem to be at the heart of the lectionary choices for this coming Sunday. But so do notions of who is in and who is out; what excludes us from community and what welcomes us in; who is an “alien,” and what does that mean in God’s economy of grace. I will… Read More
Sunday Prayer: Wormwood and Gall
God of our ancestors,the song we inheritedhas been starved in this famine of injustice;our tongues have driedfrom crying in this desert of hopelessness.Increase our faith!God of all creation,the grass will witherand we along with it, no matter our fretting;our breath will endlong before the mountain melts into the sea.Increase our faith!God of daily mercies,mustard seeds… Read More
Thursday prayer: clothe yourself with kindness
Clothe yourselves with …kindness… Colossians 3 May I dress this day in kindness: the kindness of attentive presence, the kindness of truthful speech, the kindness of wholehearted listening; May I dress this day in kindness: the kindness of a thoughtful gesture, the kindness of a small favour, the kindness of responsive action; May I dress… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: The Law and the Shema (Deut 5:1-21 and 6:4-9)
This Sunday’s text is the second telling of the Ten Commandments, the telling of the commandments just before the Israelites enter the land of milk and honey. So this is not the generation that left Egypt, most of them are dead, but the next generation, the ones who will inherit the land. You can find… Read More
